We Tend To Forget

 

Have you ever wondered why Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper?  Was it because He just wanted to hang out with the Disciples? Maybe.  Was it because He wanted to impress upon them how nasty their feet get? Well, there's that.  But permit me to share what I believe...Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper because He knows we have a habit of forgetting.  I have a confession to make, I tend to forget more than I remember.  I have a habit of looking for my glasses when I'm wearing them (the lenses just need a clean).  I can't remember, most days, what I had for breakfast.  Why? Because these things aren't overly important to me.  We tend to not remember the things we don't consider essential for our day.

1. We Need To Remember How Quickly We Forget.

Now, think about this, the world says "Have a drink and forget."  But Jesus reminds us to "Take, eat, drink...and remember."  

I was reading about Martin Luther who said he had to preach the Gospel to his congregation every single day otherwise they would forget every single day.  But also consider Martin Luther preached the Gospel every single day so Martin Luther would remember!

2. We Need To Remember Our True Condition

We have this insatiable need to be right.  We want everyone to see us as "good".  We want others to see us correct the sin of this troubled world.  Why? Because that is our sinful nature.  Remember when Jesus ate with the drunkards, tax collectors, and prostitutes?  Jesus didn't talk with them using hard words.  He reserved His hard words for the "religious" people who believed it was their goal in life to be "good" and be perceived as "good" when they were far from it and more judgmental than anything else.

Jesus used these words to them: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, HYPOCRITES! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look pure and clean outwardly, but inside is corruption and uncleanness. So you, too, outwardly look 'righteous and pious' to others, but you are really full of hypocrisy and chaos." - (Matthew 23:27-28).

3. We Need To Remember Where Jesus Found Us.

The Apostle Peter wrote: “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy.” (1 Peter 2:10).  When Jesus found us, we had no identity as a people.  Abba when to a LOT of trouble to teach us truth and love.  You see, sin isn't sin because it's ugly. Sin is sin because it stains your heart. When it stains your heart, Abba's heart breaks because He loves you.  I read a quote by Steve Brown: "The cross isn't a sign of God's judgement...it is the sign of His broken heart."

4. We Need To Remember How Loved We Are

"See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!" (1 John 3:1).  Because of Abba's love, I'm Abba's CHILD! I no longer have to consider myself to be without hope!  I am LOVED without conditions or hesitation!

Take time to remember!

Forgiven? REALLY?

"Though your sins have stained you like the color red,
you can become white like snow;
though they are as easy to see as the color scarlet,
you can become white like wool." - Isaiah 1:18

Have you ever wondered if Abba truly forgives you?  I have.  I have wondered how He could love me so much that He would forgive me and give me another chance to mess things up.  But He does.  God is the God of second chances!

The Psalmist reminds us that Abba loves us so much that "As far as the eastern horizon is from the west, so he removes the guilt of our rebellious actions from us." (Psalm 103:12).  And here's the best part, He does this every single time we confess and ask for His forgiveness!  He loves you just that much...and because of His love, we can love others.

 

Forgive Like Christ

I normally do not like sharing someone else's devotional, but today is different.  This devotional touch my mind and my soul with the need to share it.

"Scripture says, 'Br kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you' (Ephesians 4:32).

"It was the eve of the Crucifixion and Jesus' followers final meal with His followers. Jesus stoop up, hung His cloak on a hook, wrapped a towel around His waist, and poured water into a basin.  He washed feet. Jesus used some of His precious final moments in this silent sacrament of humility. 

"The disciples pledged to stay with their Master.  But, later that night when the soldiers marched in, the disciples ran out.  When they looked at their feet in shame, they realized that they had betrayed Him.

"Hasn't Jesus done the same for us?  We each have a basin. We've each been wounded. But before we knew we needed grace, we were offered it.  THIS is how happiness happens."

I pray that this touches you as it did me.  I love the way Max Lucado shares and this devotion is one he wrote.

What If It Were YOU?

"If hurts were hairs, we'd all look like grizzlies!"

 

Let's face it, we all get hurt.  Sometimes it's a promotion we were expecting that never materializes.  Getting reprimanded.  A girlfriend or boyfriend suddenly decides we're no longer compatible.  Life is full of hurts!  And deep down, we want to retaliate.  We seethe and rage in our minds wanting to hurt those who hurt us so they will know how it feels!  

Think about this for a moment, what about the times WE have been the one who hurt someone else?  Do you think they wanted to hurt us in return?  I expect so.  Why is it that we want to harbor ill will toward those who hurt us, but don't expect those we hurt to harbor ill will toward us?

Retaliation has its appeal, but Jesus had a better idea! It's called GRACE.  Grace sees our hurt full well.  Yet Grace chooses to see God's forgiveness even clearer!  When Grace is absent, bitterness flourishes.  Where Grace grows, so does forgiveness.  True, forgiveness may not happen all at once, but it can happen to us.

"See to it that no one misses the GRACE of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many" - Hebrews 12:15

 

Remember that Jesus taught us to forgive as we want to be forgiven!

 

Wish I Hadn't

Have you ever said or done something you wished you hadn't?  Have you ever reacted in a way you really wish you could take back?  Well, what about the other option: Has someone ever said or done something to you that they wished they hadn't?  Has someone ever reacted in a way they really wish they could take back? Here's the real question, did you offer that person a second chance?

 

God offers us second chances every single day!  Here are just a few: Moses murdered a man (Exodus 2:11-15), Jonah ran away from God's command to go to Nineveh (Jonah 1), David committed adultery and had Bathsheba's husband murdered (2 Samuel 11:14-17), Zacchaeus was a hated tax collector who stole from the people (Luke 19:1–10), the thief crucified with Christ (Luke 23:32–43).  The Bible is filled with second chances, and God WILLINGLY grants second chances!  But do we?

Jesus reminds us that we need to LOVE each other.  He reminds us that we are to treat each other with compassion.  He reminds us that we are to treat others the way we want to be treated.  Jesus reminded us that we are to forgive each other as many times as we want to be forgiven.  Yet why are we so eager to GET another chance when we aren't eager to GIVE a second chance?  There are no excuses we can offer that would answer that question.  Remember, Jesus didn't say "if it please your highness", Jesus said "Do it AS YOU WOULD HAVE DONE TO YOU!"

News We Need To Hear

The Lord deserves praise!
Day after day he carries our burden,
the God who delivers us.

Psalm 68:19 

 

Maybe you were like me growing up.  We attended the First Baptist Church of Don't.  SO many rules and regulations about how to look; how to act; what to say; to whom to say it; when to speak; when not to speak; what to read; what not to read; where to go; where not to go; and on and on and on.  

 

I felt, as a teenager, that church was a bunch of rules which was a huge burden.  AND I felt, because God's made them, then God was a burden as well.  The more I grew, the more I resented it.  I was tired of carrying so much guilt and anxiety. Constantly asking for forgiveness from God.  Hardly a day went by that I didn't feel like a complete failure and drug that heavy burden of guilt everywhere.

It wasn't until much later in life that I learned how wrong I was.  God isn't the burden.  God carries our burden.  We have to learn to let our burden go. 

I was watching a National Geographic program and found that in Indonesia, farmers will trap monkeys by putting their favorite food in a jar.  The opening of the jar is just big enough for the monkey to slip his hand inside.  But when the monkey grabs the goodies, he can't get his hand back out and becomes trapped.  One farmer put our struggle so perfectly when he said, "All he has to do to be free is let go of his burden."

Isn't it time for us to let go of our burden and let God set us truly free?

I Still Struggle!

Even if our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts and knows all things.

1 John 3:20 

 

This is rather difficult.  Last year I was diagnosed with PTSD and have been getting counseling for it.  The more I talked with my counselor, the more I realized that, while some of the scenes and situations I have encountered throughout life contributed to my PTSD, my main struggle was in how I dealt with everything.  And to be honest, this has been a struggle for quite some time.  You see, I feel guilty almost all the time, even if I haven't done anything to warrant being guilty.

 

My struggle is that my heart has been faced with so many situations where I have felt helpless that the helplessness has grown into guilt.  And I don't like feeling guilty all the time! 

 

God reminds us through the prophet Jeremiah that: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?"  What does this mean (I'm still learning this in therapy)?  This means that when we rely strictly on our feelings and emotions, we can be fooled!  Our feelings and emotions are prone to manipulation!  Yet the facts cannot be disputed!  

 

Fact: "God is greater than our hearts and knows all things"  God is faithful to hear our cries and He is always ready to forgive us.  Because of this, we have no need to feel guilty unless we have done something for which we need to seek forgiveness.

Load Too Heavy Yet?

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30 

 

 Way back when I was in the Army, our diabolical Drill Sergeants had pounded into us that when one wins ALL are winners and when one fails ALL pay the price.  And guess what we finally figured out?  When one of us won, that meant the rest of us had failed and we had to bare the punishment.  I told you they were diabolical!

 

In order to teach us teamwork, they had a telephone pole which we were expected to pick up and carry with us throughout the "Day of Punishment."  When it was chow time, we had to either eat in shifts or learn to eat one handed, because our friend the Pole was not permitted to touch the ground.  Thankfully, our platoon happened to be quick studies and it didn't take us long to learn to work together as a single unit.

 

There are no words which could possibly express the relief when we finally got to "Put The Pole To Bed." Nor are there words which can accurate describe the aching muscles we experienced for the following three days.  I found it rather odd that our Chaplain chose the Sunday of after we put the pole to bed to share with us Matthew 11:28-30.

 

Here I am, years later, remembering that enormous burden we carried and remembering the burden of the sins I carry (my past, my present, my actions, my words, my thoughts), that pole cannot compare to the burden of sin.  Yet, Jesus invites us to "Put The Pole To Bed" and take his lightweight yoke (love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength; Love your neighbor as yourself).  Which would be easier to carry?

Tired Of Coming Up Short?

²³ For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. ²⁴ Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.
Romans 3:20-24 

 If you were anything like me, when I reached that age of "awareness" I wanted to be like everyone else.  Why? Because I wanted to fit in!  What 12 year old (and above) wants to be that kid that's "weird" or "different" or "odd"?  Not THIS kid!  But try though I might, I never really seemed to fit in.  I just wanted to be like everyone else (as I perceived them).

Well, here's a nugget of news I learned years later:  We are ALL alike!  We are ALL in the same clique, and there are NO outsiders!  Why? Because we are ALL sinners and have fallen short of God's standard! Yep....every last one of us.  We are all piled up along the track of life, never quite reaching God's standard.  How sad is that?

However, God loves us SO much that he has provided a way for us to meet His standard!  Through Jesus Christ, God freed us from the penalty of not being good enough!  Jesus paved the way for us to finally be good enough in God's eyes (the only eyes that matter).  God made this available free to us.  Such a free gift is beyond value, yet many simply refuse to accept it.  

But I will simply tell you this from my experience, once you have experienced the true love and forgiveness of God through Christ, you will crave it forever! 

I'm Supposed To Do WHAT?

Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

Ephesians 4:32 

Is there ANYONE among us who has not done or said something so boneheaded that we wished we could disappear?  How many of us have blurted out something in a moment of anger that we wish we could take back?  How many of us have done something we wish we could undo?  If you have never made a blunder, then I'd truly like to shake your hand.

How many of us would you think are carrying some sort of grudge because of something that was said or done?  Here's a nugget of information: More people that will admit are carrying around a grudge because of something someone has done or said, and we have carried it for so long that we don't realize the way it slowly changes us into cynics.  That cynicism will seep into every aspect of life and can ruin relationships once held dear.

We sometimes choose to hang on to the anger and hurt rather than risk forgiving, because we want the person who caused our pain and anger to suffer!  WE want THEM to suffer!  Why?  Who made us their judge, jury and executioner?  And, if we are wanting them to suffer for what they did to us, doesn't that make us....just.....like....them?  You see, revenge is NOT forgiveness.  Revenge is not a prerequisite to forgiveness!  Revenge has no part in the forgiveness process.

I've said it before and I will say it again, "Forgiveness isn't true forgiveness unless it costs YOU something!  It will cost you the perceived right of revenge.  It will cost you the bruises of the pain caused to you.  It will cost you!"  Having said that, forgiveness does not mean we forget what has happened.  Forgiveness quite literally means: "To send away."  In truth, when we forgive, we are sending away the pain and anger.  When we forgive, we no longer hold their words or deeds against them (even if they never apologize), because we are sending the situation to God to deal with.

As a matter of fact, next time you are tempted to be unforgiving, as this question: "If that were me, how would I want to be treated?"  Let's be honest, we are ALL guilty and we ALL want to be forgiven, so if God forgives us because of Christ Jesus who are we to do any less?

When You Walk Through A Cattle Pasture...

So submit to God. But resist the devil and he will flee from you. 

James 4:7 

The question was asked of me, "If I have forgiven someone who has hurt me, but when I come in contact with them, I get angry and upset all over again, does that mean I haven't truly forgiven them?"  Forgiveness is not forgiveness unless it costs you!  End of story!  Forgiveness will cost you the "right" of revenge.  Forgiveness will cost you the "right" to slap on a happy mask and pretend everything is okay.  You see, forgiving someone does not mean the scars are gone.  And if someone has hurt you, then forgiveness might even cost you a relationship with that person.

One thing to consider, Forgiveness does not remove the temptation to let our humanity show.  Take for example if I get a bottle of water, and that water is scalding hot, the wise thing for me to do is not touch that bottle until I can handle the heat.  The same applies when others hurt us.  We can forgive them, but the wise thing to do is to not be in proximity of the person who hurt us until we are completely able to handle their company without being fake.  Why? Because once you have forgiven someone who has hurt you, you don't want to be tempted to be hurt by them again or to become angry with them again.  You should distance yourself from them until that hurt within you has healed completely.

If you are familiar with cows, they are quite prolific in the manufacture of manure and aren't too particular where they leave this gift.  I don't know about you, but I've never seen anyone who works with cows walking through a pasture without shoes, boots, waders, or some covering.  Why? Because once you've stepped in it, you learn it's not something you want to step into again.

Think of it this way, if you know that where the traps are, wouldn't it be wiser to walk around them rather than step into them.  We are told to resist temptation.  When Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount, His approach was to remind us that the temptation to do wrong begins in the heart.

Therefore, if you want to avoid the temptation, sometimes you have to separate yourself from the place where your temptation lurks.  The enemy knows where you struggle and sets traps for you, avoid them!

Pete's VERY Bad Day!

So they arrested Jesus and led him to the high priest’s home. And Peter followed at a distance. The guards lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat around it, and Peter joined them there. A servant girl noticed him in the firelight and began staring at him. Finally she said, “This man was one of Jesus’ followers!”

Luke 22:54-56

Pete was not having a good day.  His best friend had just been arrested and hauled off to bond court, and the rest of his friends had disappeared like a burp in a tornado.  Pete followed the guards to the bond court building but waited outside.  Some of the guards decided to warm themselves with a little fire and Pete joined them.  Then some girl started yapping about how Pete was one of the Accused's buddies!  

Pete had a choice to make and neither option was going to go well for him.  He could admit to being part of the Accused's gang and face the same consequences or he could deny everything and lose all face with those he counted on so closely.  What would you have done? 

Pete was NOT having a good day.  The choice he made was the choice he had been told he would make (and the choice he adamantly declared he would NEVER make).  And because of Pete's decision, his best friend was killed and his other friends went back to their lives.  But Pete knew.

But here's the part we tend to forget. Pete had gone back to his fishing career with his partners and while they were pulling up empty nets for the umpteenth time Jesus called out to them and told them to try the other side.  When they did, they had so many fish that Pete's boat started to sink and they had to call another boat to come help.  Eventually, Pete figured out that the man giving them advice was his best friend, Jesus, so Pete jumped out of the boat and swam back to shore where he found Jesus cooking fish for breakfast.

Jesus also had a choice at this point.  He could tell Peter to what a freaking idiot he was for denying Him and tell Pete EXACTLY what he should do to himself (and the boat he rowed in on), or Jesus could tell Peter what Peter needed at that point....another chance.  Jesus reminded Peter that he was still loved by Jesus and that he was forgiven.  Because of Jesus' decision to give Peter a second chance, Peter was instrumental in building the ministry that became the church.

Let me ask you something...ever made a decision your regretted?  Me too.  LOTS of them.  Ever been given a second chance?  Yes.  Now for the hard questions: Have you even had someone make a bad decision that hurt you deeply?  I have.  Have you ever offered them a second chance? 

Decisions Decisions!

 Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.

“Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”

John 8:1-5

     Decisions!  We face them every day.  Some are easy to make (Coffee before speaking for me please). And some are not so simple (Bacon wrapped salad or salad wrapped bacon?).  But have you ever had a decision to make that, no matter what you decided, someone was going to be ticked off at you either way?

     In today's passage, a woman has been brought to Jesus who was caught in the very act of adultery.  Adultery, in Jesus' time, was punishable by death!  Jesus taught grace, love and mercy.  And this woman has been brought to Jesus, by the religious leaders, and put in front of Jesus for a decision.  Jesus was teaching a crowd of people about God's love, mercy, forgiveness and grace, and now He has to make a decision that is going to make Him EXTREMELY unpopular with either the "Church Folk" who brought the woman or the people He had been teaching.  Jesus had been put in a "damned if you do and damned if you don't" situation.

     What about us?  Do we have decisions to make that are "damned if you do and damned if you don't"?  Let's face it, you can't make EVERYBODY happy. And let's also understand, you will discover who your TRUE friends are in such situations because they will stand by you even if they disagree with your decision.

     Meanwhile back at the ranch, Jesus has a decision to make.  If he decides that the "Church Folk" are correct, then His teaching about love, mercy, grace and forgiveness will be seen as a pack of lies and no one will want to listen to Him ever again.  On the other hand, if He decides to go the route of mercy, grace, love, and forgiveness, the "Church Folk" will take umbrage and tell the Romans that Jesus should be killed because He was inciting the common folk to go against the church.  What to do, what to do?

     But Jesus took Door #3 and told the "Church Folk" if their way was so good, then they needed to be the ones to STEP UP and prove it!  Were the "Church Folk" right?  Technically, yes!  According to the Law of Moses, having been caught IN THE ACT of adultery, the woman should have been killed (and so should the man she was with).  But the reality is this, none of the "Church Folk" were willing to step up and hurl the first rock.  They liked Jesus even less after this, but they preferred to be cowardly and make a lot of noise rather than step up and prove their ideologies.

   And this same struggle continues. So we have a decision to make (damned if you do and damned if you don't): Will you cut and run?  Will you step up and prove your ideology?  Or will you just make a lot of noise for attention and so people will think your noise makes a difference?  

God Is How Big?

And we know that God causes everything to work

 together for the good of those who love God and are 

called according to his purpose for them.

~Romans 8:28

 

 

This verse seems to be unclear for many, so let's take a look at it.  How big is God to you?  Is God only God when you think you need Him?  Is God only God when you find yourself on the horns of a dilemma? Is God the one you say "thank you" to at mealtime?  Is God the one you call to when things are not going according to your plan?  Is God surprised by the things we do, think, or say?  Is God ever taken off guard?  Can we hide from God?

 

Let me be blunt...

     * God is the God who spoke the entirety of everything into creation.  

     * God is the God who took dust, shaped it, and breathed life into it and called his breath bag "Adam."  

     * God is the one who told the sea that they can only come so far and no farther.  

     * God is the one who named every single star.  

     * God is the one who knows exactly how many hairs you have.  

     * God is the one who satan has to report to, and God also has set limits on satan (not to mention has already defeated him). 

     * God is the one who knows everything about everything because He made everything.

     * God is the one who tells us not to worry because He has everything under control.

     * God is the one who reminds us to let Him fight our battles for us.

     * God is the one who has never lied.

     * God is the one who cannot be defeated.

     * God is a LOT smarter than we could ever hope to be.

     * God is ALWAYS with us even when we can't see Him because we are focused on our storms.

     * God is the God who takes our screw-ups, mistakes, blunders, and outright defiant rebellion and works it all for OUR good.

     * God is the one who woke you up this morning (and let you see the world around you).

     * God is the one who created all those amazing place we dream about going to relax.

     * God is the one who put the mountains in their place in such a way as to direct the winds.

     * God is also the one who put beaches at the edge of the ocean to draw us there.

     * God is the one who CALLS US BY NAME and loves us more than we will ever understand or appreciate.  He loves us IN SPITE of ourselves.

 

So let me ask you again, "Just how big is YOUR God?"

Just One More Chance.....PLEASE?

All who have been united with Christ in baptism 

have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes. 

~Galatians 3:27

 

Have you ever messed up so badly that your prayer wasn't "Help!" rather is was more "Please God tell me You didn't see that"?  

  

When I first became a Christian, I admit that I wasn't very clear on the concepts of Grace, Mercy, and Forgiveness.  I spend (wasted) so much time trying not to mess up and worrying about whether I had messed up and not realized it.  And, of course, the enemy loves to play games with people like me, "Are you SURE you didn't think something bad just now?  Try NOT to think about how angry that person makes you!"  I would even go so far as to write down the things I knew I had done wrong so I could ask God to specifically forgive me for them.  And guess what?  When I had a "not too bad" day, I was cocky and proud of myself!  When my day was "a horrible very bad no good" day, I was crushed.  So I spent the first years as a believer on this rollercoaster and ended up feeling pretty worthless.

 

Finally, I saw a quote from Martin Luther, "Be a sinner and sin boldly, but believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly!"  Was he giving me permission to do whatever I wanted and to sin freely without regret?  Absolutely not!  It's the last part that caught my attention, "But believe and rejoice in Christ even more boldly."  You see, Martin Luther got it!  He understood the truth that we are going to mess up (Thank you Adam and Eve), but because of the sacrifice of Christ we are given second chances!

 

Then someone showed me Romans 7:15 where the Apostle Paul openly states, "For I don’t understand what I am doing. For I do not do what I want—instead, I do what I hate."  The Apostle Paul messed up!  That brought a huge sense of relief to me.  

 

Then I was reminded of the people that God had given second chances:

     *  Samson was a proud womanizer, God gave him a second chance to fulfill God's plan for him. 

     *  Sarah LAUGHED OUT LOUD when she heard God's messengers telling Abraham that she would bear a son at 99 years old, yet God gave her a second chance to fulfill God's plan for her.

     *  Peter denied Jesus THREE TIMES (and with profanity), yet God gave him a second chance to fulfill God's plan for him.

     *  Saul (who became Paul) tried to destroy Christianity, yet God gave him a second chance to fulfill God's plan for him.

 

You see, God is the God of second chances, and because, as believers, we have put on Christ like a new garment, God sees Christ when He looks at us.  There's no better feeling than knowing that God has forgiven me in spite of me.  And that God has given me second chance(s) to fulfill His plan for me.

Emanuel AME Church in Charleston

I have, for all this time, withheld my response to the shooting at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston.  I have been asked on numerous occasions what I thought about it.  Honestly, I can tell you that I think it was a truly horrific action carried out by one who has a very troubled spirit.   

BUT...

When I heard the response of the church body toward the shooter, I was floored.  That congregation proved that God truly IS alive in this world, because they openly declared their forgiveness of that young man. I have contended that forgiveness is a conscious choice that we must make because God's love fills us more than the anger of the acts committed against us.  This pastor and this church have proven that to be true.  They didn't call for riots!  They didn't call for revenge!  They didn't call for anger! They didn't They claimed the peace of God's love!  They have become the living example of Jesus' Prayer to "Forgive us for our sins, just as we have forgiven those who sinned against us."   

Let me be brutally and painfully honest in confessing that I don't know if I could have done that.  But then I read the words of Interim Pastor Norvel Goff, Sr. when he declared of the church: "This is God's territory!"

I visited with the Coastal Crisis Chaplaincy recently for two reasons; first, to remind them that they are not alone. People are praying for them. And second, to try to care for the caregivers.  During that visit, one of the Chaplains make a very profound statement: "The reaction of the Citizens of Charleston and the members of Emanuel AME Church have reminded me that the Holy City is still Holy."

When tragedy strikes in our lives, can we respond because God's love and forgiveness fills us so much that anger and hatred have no home in our hearts?  That is my prayer! 

My gratitude to Pastor Norvel Goff, Sr. for reminding me that "This is GOD'S territory!"

 

Gimme A Break!

Make allowance for each other’s faults, 

and forgive anyone who offends you. 

Remember, the Lord forgave you, 

so you must forgive others.

~Colossians 3:13

Ever wonder why God put dogs on this earth?  I think I have finally figured out a small piece of that question.  We have a greyhound.  She is a retired racer we named Abby.  Now Abby is very routine oriented.  She knows when she is supposed to get fed; she knows when she is supposed to get a "good girl" cookie; She knows when she is supposed to get her 'bedtime' cookie.  Not only that, but Abby is not afraid to remind me when it's time.  

But I forgot to give her the bedtime cookie on Saturday, despite her reminding harrumphs and snorts and pouting, I got distracted working on a project and just forgot.  But when it did sink in, at 1:00am, I got up and got her cookie and brought it to her.  At first, she turned away and made sure I knew she wasn't looking at me.  I told her that I was sorry for forgetting and put the cookie on her bed.  It didn't take long before I heard crunching followed by a belch followed by wet lock to my face.  I had been forgiven!  We were good again. Abby teaches me a LOT about forgiveness and patience every day.  You see, Abby loves me in spite of myself.

Then there are people.  People aren't so forgiving.  People seem to enjoy being angry.  People seem to relish in take advantage of the kindness of others.  People seem to love ticking each other off!  Why is that?  

Why is it that WE want to be forgiven immediately, but aren't so quick to forgive others (especially if THEY don't apologize to us).  In today's verse, Paul reminds us that we are to be QUICK to forgive others because, after all, God has forgiven us.

Not only that, but if you recall the Lord's Prayer: "Forgive US OUR sins IN THE SAME WAY WE forgive OTHERS."   I didn't say that, Jesus did!

Forgiveness is a decision that we must make.  Do you want to be forgiven, then learn to forgive!  Forgiveness is a gift....don't be afraid to give it.